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ASM delays vote on constitution
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The Associated Students of Madison’s Constitutional Committee put together a timeline and recommendation delaying a vote on the newly restructured constitution Tuesday night.
The committee told the Student Council the vote should move from the expected fall election date to a special election in February 2009.
According to Jeff Wright, constitutional committee chair, the reason for moving the timeline back is to make certain there is enough time for student input and revisions of the constitution.
“Initially when the constitutional committee was set up back in May, they were supposed to present a constitution and put it on a ballot by fall,” said Brittany Wiegand, chair of Associated Students of Madison. “The committee realized in August that in order to get meaningful student input, it would be difficult to vote on this in October.”
With a February special election, the new constitution could be implemented in the spring.
Because the constitution calls for a presidential and a vice presidential candidate, these individuals must be on the ballot in the spring to represent the student body by fall 2009.
There are some issues with holding a special election in February, Wiegand said. Specifically, the costs can amount to thousands of dollars and voter turnout could be affected.
“If we have two elections during the spring, we have a concern of low voter turnout,” Wiegand said. “It could take away from both of [the elections], which we definitely do not want.”
Some committee members said it would be a good idea to offer supplementary material and alternatives along with the constitution at a series of listening sessions so individuals giving feedback would be aware of the reasons for why the committee made the changes it did.
“I think it is completely valid that we look at how we go about getting feedback,” Wright said. “But, we have to be open to criticism. That is why we are going to have the February elections. This is a student constitution, and students, first and foremost, should be able to give the necessary critiques and input.
ASM Vice Chair Hannah Karns announced her resignation from the constitutional committee due to recent sorority obligations, other commitments and her misunderstanding that the committee did not end after the summer sessions.
WSUM could receive third funding stream
According to Kurt Gosselin, Student Services Finance Committee chair, the funding eligibility for WSUM radio will be considered for a third funding stream known as the ancillary fund instead of its usual general student service fund eligibility.
The ancillary fund provides a three-year rolling horizon budget, which means if an organization is granted a certain amount of money, it cannot lose funding if not granted eligibility for funding the following year.
“The idea behind that, with WSUM in particular, is that they have a radio tower. If denied funding they would have to take down the radio tower,” Gosselin said. “[The ancillary fund] gives provided security for organizations that have significant capital investments.”
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To expand on the Ancillary Fund, the rationale behind the three year rolling horizon is to protect investments students have made in the funding of these services. For example, if an SSFC any particular year were to choose not to fund WSUM, their tower would have to be dismantled within 90 days following the conclusion of the fiscal year per contract terms. Additionally, if SSFC decided to grant eligibility and funding to WSUM the following year, it would cost in excess of $1 million just to reconstruct the tower. Additionally, WSUM has committed space in the new Student Activity Center. Thus, it would be imprudent of us not to protect this investment by funding them through this new, more appropriate funding stream.
“ASM Vice Chair Hannah Karns announced her resignation from the constitutional committee due to recent sorority obligations, other commitments and her misunderstanding that the committee did not end after the summer sessions. “
That’s why they call her “Klueless Karns.”
Shame on the Badger Herald for allowing such a blatant personal attack.